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Legislators made a good effort to help children

State Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, and Del. William Fralin, R-Roanoke, should be commended for their excellent, heartfelt work on behalf of Virginia's children and families this legislative session through their sponsorship of the bills to establish an Office of the Children's Ombudsman (SB 315/HB 1131).

This much-needed office would provide children and families with a single contact point for handling complaints regarding children's services in order to ensure the safety and well-being of Virginia's youth. Both at public hearings held around the state, including one in Roanoke, and in testimony before the General Assembly, the public has voiced strong support for such an office.

Due to the hard work and dedication of both Edwards and Fralin, the ombudsman bills passed the General Assembly nearly unanimously. Unfortunately, due to the dire budget situation, money was not allocated for the office this year.

We hope that the legislature and the governor will find room in the budget next session for this vitally needed and desired service.

Director, Mid-Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center Juvenile Law and Policy Clinic University of Richmond School of Law

Governments should cut up the credit cards

I am a 33-year-old female who works three jobs and observes our local news. I read about the taxpayers' money being spent with credit cards by Roanoke officials. Although it is now being monitored, the policy should change.

Successful companies require that the employees spend their own money and submit a reimbursement request along with an approval from owners/supervisors to receive an expense check.

Maybe if our local officials had to pay for trips, meals, mileage and office equipment with their personal money or, better yet, go through an approval process prior to making the expenditure, taxpayers' money would be spent more wisely.

I have heard some officials say, "We cannot lower taxes until taxpayers learn to give up something themselves," which is absolutely true, but let's see what our officials can learn to give up for the taxpayers.

Invest, as we once did, in GIs

As a college freshman in the early '50s, I had three roommates who were World War II veterans, there only by the grace of the GI bill.

One stands clear in my memory, a veteran of the Bataan death march and four years in a Japanese prison. He weighed scarcely more than 135 pounds, was a 39-year-old drugstore clerk with a N.C. mountain accent. To my surprise, he was taking pharmacy, one of the toughest undergraduate courses. He attended classes from 9-5, studied until 10 p.m. and ended up making Phi Beta Kappa.

These were the best students before or since who have attended our universities. The GI bill was probably the wisest investment of taxpayer money our government ever made, being largely responsible for the 20 years of prosperity that followed the war.

We are fortunate to have Sen. Jim Webb, who is bringing sane leadership to Washington. His GI bill for the Iraq war veterans deserves everyone's support. From other quarters we hear the "no new taxes" mantra, which represents misguided leadership at best. It is not whether we pay taxes but how prudently our money is spent (invested).

Don't mess up our skyline

In response to Marc S. Hirsch's letter ("Look to a success for guidance," May 6) concerning an upscale restaurant on Mill Mountain:

Perhaps Hirsch should consider visiting one of the upscale restaurants already available in the valley. He then can take a drive and enjoy the beauty of the area without adding one more developed eyesore to the Roanoke Valley.

We as a community and a nation continue to lose precious land and green space to development at an alarming rate. I would prefer that we leave Mill Mountain as it is, and not develop it one bit more.

So let's leave it alone. If I have a desire to see a restaurant in a park, or someone else's opinion of what an incredible skyline is, I will head to New York. While I am there, I will be sure to describe what a truly incredible skyline looks like.

At a loss about the Market Building

I find it hard to understand why Roanoke's City Market Building operates at a loss. Isn't the building's mortgage paid in full by now?

If it is owned by the city of Roanoke, couldn't any taxes just be waived? Most of the rental spaces are filled by small businesses. Is this income not enough to offset any operating costs?

I would like for The Roanoke Times to investigate and please show us some black and white (or red and white) figures from the city to clarify why the operation of our wonderful City Market Building is such a financial failure.

The Decider has blocked Congress

I am dismayed at J.B. Mixon's letter ("Democratic Congress has failed families," May 5) for totally blaming the Democrats for failing to resolve all of the existing problems our country is facing because they lacked leadership ability in Congress.

He failed to mention the innumerable times President Bush (The Decider) vetoed bills presented by Congress. Further, Mixon appeared to have a lack of understanding about the two-thirds majority needed in the House of Representatives as well as in the Senate to override the president's veto.

If he will do the math, he will readily figure out that the number of Democrats in Congress isn't enough to nullify the president's rejections without the help of a number of Republicans.

I am disheartened by the number of people who are uninformed and choose to blame the Democrats for their two-year stint in Congress. The dilemma our country is facing took more than two years to evolve and certainly more than that time to rectify our plight.

More truly is less in the bureaucracy

Beware glad tidings from your friendly Social Security office and don't assume their good news is your good news. I received notification that because of my 2007 earnings, my benefits were being increased but my widow's benefits were being decreased to cover the difference. Therefore, my benefits would be the same.

Say what? I am getting an increase; however, on the other hand, I am not getting an increase, yet it will remain the same. Where is my comprehension when I need it? As I read and reread the pertinent paragraph, I counted 11 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors, wondering all the while if their math was as bad as their writing ability, and when I got to the bottom line, realized that I was actually $1 in the hole each month.

A call to Richmond explained that this happens sometimes when they "round off." Is this bureaucracy run amok, or what? Thank the Lord I am able to work full time. At the rate my increased earnings are being decreased so that I can have the same thing, I will be penniless by the year 3002.

Car shows were a good use

I live on the outskirts of Salem, and on many a warm spring/summer night, my family and I enjoyed going to the car show in the West Salem shopping mall where Lazer Venture was located.

Since the mall was sold to be turned into some DIY store, there were to be no more shows. That deal seemed to have fallen through and the car shows resumed, much to the enjoyment of the local populace and businesses who reaped from all the people coming in.

Now, once again, it seems that these shows are prohibited on the property. What harm was it to have this? I think a parking lot full of cars and people going to local restaurants would be better than watching the gulls fly around like buzzards in the desert.